Genomics analysis of Aphanomyces spp. identifies a new class of oomycete effector associated with host adaptation.

Background: Oomycetes are a group of filamentous eukaryotic microorganisms that have colonized all terrestrial and oceanic ecosystems, and they include prominent plant pathogens. The Aphanomyces genus is unique in its ability to infect both plant and animal species, and as such exemplifies oomycete versatility in adapting to different hosts and environments. Dissecting the underpinnings of oomycete diversity provides insights into their specificity and pathogenic mechanisms.

Diversity and Structure of Fungal Communities in Neotropical Rainforest Soils: The Effect of Host Recurrence.

The patterns of the distribution of fungal species and their potential interactions with trees remain understudied in Neotropical rainforests, which harbor more than 16,000 tree species, mostly dominated by endomycorrhizal trees. Our hypothesis was that tree species shape the non-mycorrhizal fungal assemblages in soil and litter and that the diversity of fungal communities in these two compartments is partly dependent on the coverage of trees in the Neotropical rainforest. In French Guiana, a long-term plantation and a natural forest were selected to test this hypothesis.

Leaf and root-associated fungal assemblages do not follow similar elevational diversity patterns.

The diversity of fungi along environmental gradients has been little explored in contrast to plants and animals. Consequently, environmental factors influencing the composition of fungal assemblages are poorly understood. The aim of this study was to determine whether the diversity and composition of leaf and root-associated fungal assemblages vary with elevation and to investigate potential explanatory variables.

Functional assays and metagenomic analyses reveals differences between the microbial communities inhabiting the soil horizons of a Norway spruce plantation.

In temperate ecosystems, acidic forest soils are among the most nutrient-poor terrestrial environments. In this context, the long-term differentiation of the forest soils into horizons may impact the assembly and the functions of the soil microbial communities. To gain a more comprehensive understanding of the ecology and functional potentials of these microbial communities, a suite of analyses including comparative metagenomics was applied on independent soil samples from a spruce plantation (Breuil-Chenue, France).